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By Ethan Stark-Miller

Oh rats!

The City Council passed a package of bills Thursday aimed at combating the swarms of rodents running a muck on the city’s streets and in its subways.

The package, dubbed the Rat Action Plan, includes legislation that would designate more so-called “rat mitigation zones” – areas prone to rat infestations, direct the city health department to report annually on its efforts to curtail the rat problem in those zones, require buildings with several rodent-specific health violations place their trash in lidded containers and compel developers prove they retained a rodent exterminator in order to get a construction permit. 

The bills on rat mitigation zones, lidded trash containers in buildings and construction sites all passed the council by a 44 to 6 vote with the body’s five Republicans and Council Member Kalman Yeger (D-Brooklyn) voting “no,” while the bill requiring an annual report on rat curtailment efforts passed unanimously.

The rat mitigation zone bill – Intro. 459a – clears the way for the city Department of Sanitation (DSNY) to issue new rules that would push back the time people can put out their trash from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m, which Mayor Eric Adams unveiled with Department of Sanitation (DSNY) Commissioner Jessica Tisch last week.

During a press conference preceding the Stated Meeting, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said the legislation is needed because increased numbers of rats in the city are causing quality of life and health issues for everyday New Yorkers.

“New York City is currently experiencing a severe rat infestation problem, one that has impacted all communities,” Speaker Adams said. “The increased number of rodents results in more property damage, food contamination and disease transmission as well as an overall impact on New Yorker’s quality of life. The council is focused on improving the health and safety of our neighborhoods and this legislative package will bolster efforts to address the surge of rodents throughout the city.”

The cadre of council members behind the package, calling themselves the Rat Pack – named after an informal group of entertainers from the 1950s and ‘60s, rallied for the bills on the City Hall steps Thursday morning, ahead of the Stated Meeting. The group included Council Members Sandy Nurse (D-Brooklyn) – who chairs the body’s Committee on Sanitation, Shaun Abreu (D-Manhattan), Chi Ossé (D-Brooklyn) and Erik Bottcher (D-Manhattan).